ACC Men’s Championships: Day Two

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, February 25. VIRGINIA controlled the pool on the second day of the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship at Koury Natatorium on the University of North Carolina campus to take a 45-point lead in the team standings through seven events of action.

One night after helping the Cavalier 800-yard freestyle relay team clock a national qualifying “A” cut time (6:19.23), Cavalier junior Matt McLean won his third consecutive 500-yard freestyle championship, swimming to a Koury Natatorium-record finish in 4:17.21 and becoming the 13th Cavalier in the last 14 years to win the event. Virginia rounded out the All-ACC honors in the 500 freestyle, as juniors John Snawerdt (4:19.67) and Taylor Smith (4:40.78) finished in second and third place, respectively. McLean’s mark bested former Cavalier Fran Crippen’s pool record (4:18.20), set in 2003, by nearly a second.

Cavalier junior Scot Robison, also a member of last night’s winning 800-yard freestyle relay squad, took first in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 19.64, followed by Clemson freshman Eric Bruck (19.90) and Virginia sophomore Peter Geissinger (19.94).

Despite trailing by .47 seconds halfway through the 200-yard individual medley, Georgia Tech senior Gal Nevo–last season’s ACC Male Swimmer of the Year–pulled ahead by the 150-yard checkpoint to win his second straight ACC crown in the event. His time of 1:44.14 broke a pool record and was just .01 seconds shy of an “A” cut. Following Nevo were North Carolina junior Tyler Harris (1:45.58), who also came in under the former pool record of 1:45.77 held by Patrick Mellors of Virginia, and Cavalier freshman Matt Houser (1:46.45).

In the last event of the evening, Virginia claimed another relay title, as Robison, Geissinger, and seniors Eric Olesen and John Azar teamed to clock a 1:19.07 in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The race for second place was a tight one, as the Tar Heels–seeded seventh after their preliminary race earlier this morning–edged Florida State by .02 seconds.

Results from the men’s one-meter dive–held last week–were added to the team scores following tonight’s action. Duke freshman Nick McCrory, the Most Valuable Diver of last week’s events, won the event (433.05), and was followed by Seminole senior Terry Horner (463.00) and junior Landon Marzullo (352.30).

Virginia leads the team standings after two days of events with 221 points. North Carolina sits in second place (266), followed by Florida State (189), Clemson (138), Virginia Tech (126), and Duke (123). Rounding out the order are Georgia Tech (98), Maryland (98), NC State (62), Boston College (36), and Miami (15), which only competes in diving events.

The 2010 ACC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship will continue tomorrow (Fri., Feb. 26) with preliminary events beginning at 11 a.m. and finals events following at 7 p.m. Tomorrow’s event lineup includes the butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke at 100 yards each, as well as the 200-yard freestyle, and 400-yard individual medley.

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